Museveni Urges Parish-Level Audits to Track PDM Impact

• Jun 18, 2025

President Yoweri Museveni has directed local leaders in Greater Mpigi to carry out parish-by-parish audits of how the Parish Development Model (PDM) is impacting households and helping them join the money economy. He emphasized that the focus should now shift from distributing funds to measuring real change in people’s lives.

Speaking in Butambala District at Gombe Secondary School, the President told leaders from Mpigi, Butambala, and Gomba to stop working on assumptions and instead verify which households have transitioned out of poverty. He stressed the importance of walking with the people, understanding their realities, and collecting evidence of transformation.

“It is not about handing out money. It is about real progress. We must see who has shifted into income-generating activities,” Museveni said. He urged leaders to leave their offices, engage citizens directly, and act as guides on their journey into economic self-reliance.

Comparing the effort to the Biblical story of the lost sheep, Museveni said the remaining poor households must be reached and supported. “This is not politics. It is a mission to rescue our people,” he emphasized.

The President also warned against unrealistic promises, noting that development must be done in phases. He highlighted progress in education under the NRM government, citing an increase in government A’ Level schools in the region from just six in the 1960s to 27 today.

He underscored the importance of preventive healthcare and urged families to practice good hygiene and embrace vaccination. On land issues, he warned landlords against illegal evictions of bibanja tenants and announced a new law to protect tenants by routing obusulu (ground rent) payments through sub-county offices.

President Museveni also stressed wealth creation through modern farming and cited successful examples like Prof. Florence Muranga’s tenfold banana yield increase through irrigation. He reaffirmed plans to open a Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in the region and questioned the lack of canine police units in Gomba.

Alhajji Moses Kigongo, NRM’s First National Vice Chairman, called on leaders to return to the party’s founding values of discipline and integrity. He warned that poor manners and the corrupting influence of money were damaging the NRM’s reputation. Gomba District LC5 Chairman, Geoffrey Kiviiri, praised Museveni’s leadership and highlighted how PDM, NAADS, Emyooga, and other programs were lifting families out of poverty. He reported that 65% of the region’s 672,000 people had joined the money economy and that all PDM funds for the financial year had been disbursed and were in use.

However, Kiviiri admitted that the Emyooga initiative had underperformed compared to PDM and urged communities to treat government funds as revolving capital, not personal income. He also applauded the impact of Presidential Industrial Hubs, which have helped over 240 youth from the region acquire vocational skills and secure livelihoods.

The event was also attended by several ministers and NRM officials, including Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba, and Investment Minister Evelyn Anite.